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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. vault — a safe
  5. present — there
  6. bass — the fish
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. game — a match
  9. pit — a hole
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — wild animals
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. squash — to crush
  17. pit — in a race
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bass — low music
  20. present — the time now
  21. stock — goods
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. squash — the sport
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com